This is the first in the series of publications depicting various episodes from Campbell history. We intend to publish a small piece of history every month and hope you will enjoy uncovering some of these treasures as much as we did.

J.C. Ainsley, a local fruit canner and builder of our historic Ainsley House, received this Bluebell Brand Apricot label in the mail during World War I. A battlefield letter was penned on the reverse. Nearly eighty years later, the label was donated to the museum by one of J.C. Ainsley’s granddaughters.

The letter reads:

Souvenir from the battlefield of Belgium, Oct. 19, 1918.

Perched high upon the end of a demolished British tank which had ended its career in a gigantic German shell hole. I rapaciously consumed the contents of this can of California peaches [sic.]. For a brief moment I forgot Huns and battles as I licked the can clean. It sure was a rare and most palatable dish to one who had not tasted such a delicacy for months. Accept my profound thanks for the concern or individual who can grow and can such a luxury. Amid this scene of desolation, death and destruction it came like a gift from heaven.

Sincerely yours,

Cpl. Nelson G. Welburn

Co. C” 316 Engrs. A.P.O. 776